Breaking the Cycle

Part 4

Breaking the cycle of violence needs the commitment and partnership of all in our society.

First and foremost, lifetime funding has to be guaranteed from all levels of government with no option from budgetary cuts.

A large portion of the funding should be put into education and every grades' curriculum including kindergarten. Each school should have one crisis worker trained on the issue. Counseling should be immediately available in hospitals, and clinics when women or children exhibit the emotional and physical impact of domestic violence.

The Attorney General should establish domestic courts in every town and city with specialized Crown Attorneys and Judges.

The federal and provincial governments should increase sentences for spousal offenders with no bail for repeat offenders including breaches of bail, bond, probation or parole conditions.

Training and education should be ongoing within the judicial system (including judges), and ensure there are sufficient funds for court/victim support staff and a Canada-wide computer link on sentences and perpetrators.

Ongoing funding to build scattered, security conscious non-profit housing with specific amount of units to go to battered women in immediate crisis. In addition a government sponsored victim protection and re-location program.

In addition, continued media coverage reinforcing that domestic violence is against the law. (Encourage high profile sports and movie stars to speak out against family violence.)

Corporate and business policies in establishing awareness and employee assistance programs for victims of violence. (Bell Telephone, Xerox, the Bank of Montreal and C.A.W. to name a few have established such programs.)

All unions should negotiate employee assistance programs and incorporate the legal language into their collective agreements. Clauses should include; job protection, off site paid counseling, time off for court appearances, ill credit, and relocating a victim at risk. Management and staff should be trained in the complexities of abuse.

More men need to speak out against their own gender strongly stating violent behavior is not condoned or acceptable.

Only through ongoing education and a collaborative effort can the cycle of violence be broken. It is the children of today that are the future leaders of tomorrow. We have to provide them with the essential tools that will result in a zero tolerance of familial violence.

To many women and innocent children have died at the hands of their tormentor. Families left behind grieve for the rest of their lives. Generations of victims have lived silently with the effects of abuse within the home. Blameless children have gone on to be abusers or victims as they learned from experience and example.

As women in the past had to fight for the right to vote, so the women of today have to fight for the right to live free of domestic violence. Spousal abuse has for generations been insidiously woven into the very fabric of our society. As we prepare for the next millennium our society's priority should be to protect our children from continuing this heinous crime and break the cycle of violence.

We owe it to the hundreds of women who have died that their deaths were not in vain. Let the memory of those victims who suffered senseless death lead us towards a society that will not condone such a heinous crime.

Barbara Mills is a freelance writer, lecturer, and workshop facilitator and speaks specifically to women's issues.